Are violent video games bad for society? (as opposed to the non-violent kind)

[ZombieHorde]

[rwheeler31]

1. Can you find somthing else to do?

[ZombieHorde]

65. other than post on this board with you?

[L0oniX]

2. I'd say being in the military and killing real people may be far worse for society than any game.

[Leeny]

35. start them practicing young

just look into any arcade and you'll see our kids beginning early combat training
:nuke:

[YOY]

46. Yeah, that's why enlistment is way up...

You're a regular fountain of BS.

[Leeny]

100. Gee thanks

you're ever so kind

[YOY]

112. and you're ever so full of it.

n/t

[Norrin Radd]

140. Arcades? Where are these arcades of which you speak? Not many of them left.

[freedom55]

123. ya

ya

[uppityperson]

137. Wow. About all you do is post 1 word replies. Interesting.

I wonder why.

[cags]

3. I consider violent video games an outlet for people with violent tendencies. Better than shooting...

birds in their backyards or beating people up.

[YOY]

14. Really? I am pretty peaceful and I love them.

n/t

[Quantess]

4. Yes, I'm sure they are, but the world is going to hell in a handbasket anyway.

Violent video games are the least of our nation's problems.

[MrSlayer]

5. Not anymore than Bugs Bunny dropping an anvil on Elmer Fudd's head.

Which is to say "not at all."

[tomreedtoon]

6. Like "Tom Clancy's Fascist Force"...

...and "Grand Theft Auto: Shoot the Darkie Whores." Or "Big Game Hunter: Hip-Hop and Beaner Trophy Edition."

Naah, there's nothing socially wrong with violent video games. The coders who write these things, with the same life experiences and social conscience of the average Bush Pioneer, would never write anything that could be bad for society. Next thing you'll tell me that you don't trust brightly-painted toys from China and sold at Wal-Mart.

YOU IDIOTS! (I can't afford one of those expensive dripping "sarcasm" icons.)

[timtom]

7. Kids have always had games to vent agression

Just as horror stories are necessary to a society, so are some form of games of aggression.

It's all considered to be cathartic.

<edited to pontificate beyond the normal>

[blindpig]

8. Other

All video games are detrimental to society when used obsessively, which seems to be the way they are usually used.

The disconnect with reality, pioneered by tv, has reached a grevious new extent.

Get off of the sofa, get out of the house!

[Occulus]

12. Then again, some violent video games actually make a social statement

I am Andrew Ryan and I am here to ask you a question: Is a man not entitled to the sweat of his brow?

No, says the man in Washington. It belongs to the poor.
No, says the man in the Vatican. It belongs to God.
No, says the man in Moscow. It belongs to everyone.

I rejected those answers. Instead, I chose something different. I chose the impossible. I chose...

Rapture.



A city where the artist would not fear the censor. Where the scientist would not be bound by petty morality. Where the great would not be constrained by the small.

And with the sweat of your brow, Rapture can become your city as well.

Bioshock takes place in the underwater city of Rapture, an extreme example of an Ayn Rand dystopia gone mad. In rapture, citizens are able to genetically alter their bodies through the use of injectable plasmids, which are powered by ADAM and EVE, two substances which allow their bodies to heal exponentially faster, make them stronger, and even more bizarre effects- like the ability to hatch bees from their arms and inflict them on their enemies.

The city of Rapture is falling apart when your character arrives, and the opening moments of the game are jarring and horrifying. The player almost immediately gets to see, up close and personal, just how badly screwed-up Rapture became following the discovery of ADAM in the city's fishery, Neptune's Bounty.

The city's greatest threat comes from the Big Daddy, guardians of the Little Sisters that roam the city searching for ADAM to recycle. Both are genetically altered forms of humans; the Big Daddy is a huge man who is literally part deep-sea-diving suit, and the Little Sisters are small girls altered in the same way. The Little Sisters are nearly indestructible, due to a parasitic slug that lives in their stomachs that cause their bodies to generate stem cells to replace damaged cells almost instantly. Here's the Big Daddy and the Little Sister doing their thing:



Throughout the game, the main character (the player) faces off against the Big Daddies over and over again; after defeating him, you can choose to rescue or harvest the Little Sister. Rescuing her frees her... but harvesting the slug from her body will kill her. This moral choice is offered by the creator of the Little Sisters, and rescuing them does return a benefit.

I won't go any further to describe the game, as anything more would need to be whited out as a spoiler. Suffice to say, Bioshock tells a story far better than most other video games, and is well worth taking a look at for that alone. The creep-out factor, however, is a definite plus for this one, the art deco atmosphere of the game is incredibly well-executed, and the questions it implies will leave you thinking, at least for a while.

Oh, yeah, and the DRM sucks. :D

[YOY]

20. NO KGF! Don't bring an example into the picture!

Let them get their knowledge thirdhand about GTA4. Heaven forbid some people here actually play any game.

[TheFriendlyAnarchist]

78. I love the story behind Rapture.

I'm dl'ing bioshock as we speak :)

[WilmywoodNCparalegal]

119. I loooooooooooooooooveeeee Bioshock!

Then again, I also play GTA4, Call of Duty and Rainbow Six and I'm a pretty peaceful mid-30s female.

[UNCLE_Rico]

126. Bioshock totally rocked ...

Just finished it for the third time the other day. And I'm 41 years old, been playing 'violent' video games damn near my whole life ... yet I'm an extremely peaceful person. Go figure...

[YOY]

129. This is what we've been trying to tell some people here

but they prefer to preach ignorance because the "bad man in the game shot somebody" and "won't someone think of the children?"

There is a reason why some young people (in particularly some younger male voters) were not solidly for Hillary...and it had nothing to do with her gender and quite a bit to do with her preaching that ignorance to the soccer moms and NASCAR dads.

[GreenPartyVoter]

9. My kids play them and they are still sweet little boys

[YOY]

19. No GPV! You're supposed to blame everything wrong with the world on them!

Then again I'm sure you're a pretty good parent but that would obviously have nothing to do with it by some condemner's logic!

[proud2BlibKansan]

26. Because you are a decent parent

I would imagine they don't play them 24/7 and you don't use them as a babysitter.

[PeaceNikki]

10. What about violent movies, TV shows and books?

:shrug:

[semillama]

11. I suppose it would be better if they were outside playing guns and running around

rather than sitting on the couch, but then again, I myself like sitting on the couch in front of a good game for an hour before dinner (finally picked up the Orange Box and started Portal - daaaaaaaaaaammmmmmmmmmn).

[benEzra]

102. I *LOVE* Portal!

and the Half Life 2 series is absolutely gripping. Be sure to play them in order...

HL2 music video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8N4exr15q3U

Eagerly awaiting Half Life 2 Episode 3...

[Phoonzang]

13. No they're not and I'll beat the crap out of anyone

who says they are bad for society. :evilgrin:

[BlooInBloo]

15. (shrug) Probably. But they're like #3644564 on the list of the country's top problems.

EDIT: Clarified subject.

[Leeny]

16. Your forgot to include "Duh!" as a choice

yes they are, I speak from experience, no doubt

[YOY]

18. Bullsh*t.

What experience is that? What violence did video games cause in your life? Did you kill some crack whores after playing GTA? You'd be the first one ever I can assure you of that. Call Jack Thompson. He's no longer getting disbarred for being a cockwank and using bullsh*t evidence (aka lies) in his trials accusing video games as being the motivator to violent crimes.

Yesterday I massacred the inhabitants of Tyre after slaying the Muslim army guarding the city after breaking down their walls. I forced the remainder to convert to Christianity at a swords edge.

Then I kissed my daughter goodnight and read her a story.

[Occulus]

28. I annhiliated the entire Aztec civilization last week

But then, crossbows are rather, um, ineffective against infantry transports and and marines :D

[mudesi]

31. You're playing on the easiest level, aren't you

Try winning on Deity. I did. :P

[YOY]

32. A few days ago I slicked through multiple Knights of the Flaming Rose as Vesima burned

Heads were everywhere and I looted the bodies for anything I could. Then went inside the makeshift hospital and had a menage a trois with two nurses (Consensual or course....sorry to disappoint the Anti-gaming DUers.)

Later, I left the house and got a tuna foot long at Subway. I did think the girl working there was cute but the game neither caused me to assault her physically nor sexually.

I'm still waiting for this poster to tell me how video games have "personally affected them". Prolly not gonna get a good answer.

[Odin2005]

115. Bwahahaha!!! Civilization 4 is one of my favorite games.

I get a kick out using a Great Artist to culture-bomb a border city so it's culture engulfs one of my opponent's cities.

[Leeny]

33. wow, that was a rather violent answer

:wow:

[YOY]

42. I respond to bullshit that way and it was bullshit.

and there was no violence in the answer so please stop acting like you just one-upped me with some cute little response.

Your infiltration here will take a little more than pretending to be clever.

Still waiting on how it effected your life personally.

[G_j]

52. whew.. I feel better

now that ultimate authority has spoken..;

[YOY]

55. I am a far better authority on the subject than the person I am replying to.

As are KGF and HongKongChevalier, IanDB, and several other members of the Gaming Group.

So how is that worthy of snark?

I am still waiting on their personal experience of how video games have affected their life.

[G_j]

56. frankly. I have no way to know

who is,
I just would say, the subject is open for debate, and i don't accept anyone as an absolute authority, because the question of what factors contribute to, or promote violent behavior in our culture, is a vast and complex one.

It is a discussion worth having though, because, correct me if I'm wrong, violence IS up in our society.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

57. "the subject is open for debate"

It's about as open for debate as whether or not Harry Potter books spread witchcraft.

"It is a discussion worth having though, because, correct me if I'm wrong, violence IS up in our society."

You're wrong. Violent crime is way down since it was in, say, the seventies before violent video games.

[G_j]

72. in the last few years it has gone up

AND NO, I am not saying video games are the cause, never said they were.
A since you are so sure that there is no debate or discussion worth having about how repetitive depictions of violence effect our culture, I will not bother.



Violent Crime Up For Second Year

www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/01/AR2007060102360.html

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

75. I blame witchcraft.

I think it's time we burn school libraries so violence can never go up again.

[G_j]

76. I suppose that is

the sort of intelligent discussion one would expect.
:shrug:

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

77. It's the sort of discussion you're offering.

Yes, blaming video games for violence really is that stupid.

[G_j]

79. dude

I am not fucking stupid!

The whole reason I got involved in this, was simply to point out that condescending attitudes, do not make for a constructive dialog.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

80. You're not? Great.

Then knock off the Jack Chick "Dungeons and Dragons causes Satanism" bullshit. It's unbecoming.

[YOY]

81. You'll have to forgive us then

We do get condescending when it comes to debating non-issues.

I like to do the same for creationists and people who think waterboarding isn't torture when they try and debate. There is no debate there.

This is just one thing I don't expect to see in my party let alone my wing.

[G_j]

82. did you read the poll question?

it does not ask if violent games lead to violent behavior. It asks if they are "bad for society".
That is a very broad question, and there are no 'studies' that can definitively answer it. So, in my opinion, it is a subject open for discussion.

[YOY]

83. The answer is still a resounding "no".

And a few of the studies are mentioned downstream.

[G_j]

84. what if I asked you

why people are far less concerned about torture than they once were?

is it the show 24? The endless sadistic movies about torture?
Imagery does effect the human brain, especially repeated imagery. Anybody who knows about the brain can at least tell you this.
How the images effect us, we are learning.
I think it is always worth observing the imagery popular in our culture.

[YOY]

85. or could it be that we dissimilate reality as we cannot imagine things like that really happening.

At least not "here".

Or perhaps we really are more wrapped up in our own lives and consumerism and that the "imagery" is just a scapegoat.

I can pretty much gaurantee you that if some serious violence goes down in front of the hardest of hardcore gamers they will not stand around and enjoy the misery of others.

If they did it has nothing to do with the games and everything to do with being sociopaths.

The "violent imagery" of video games does not cause one to be more accepting or conding of violence. End of discussion.

[G_j]

86. and this is

just the dialog I was talking about. All of your points are good.

I don't have any particular concern over video games.
I am concerned about the collective imagery reflecting out of our culture.
I don't want to censure it, I want to understand what it means about us and where we are going.

[YOY]

89. Well more power to you then.

It's my hotbutton the issue of censure of video games as some sort of "corruptor of the youth." As a lifelong gamer I take as much personal insult to this as to anyone who demeans my service to my country in the Peace Corps or insults my wife for being a non-American.

There was a poster here a few years ago who was given the boot because of his venemous attacks on us (all the DUer gamers) and his personal insults. He would often accuse us of "twiddling our joysticks" and wasting our lives when in reality most of us have lives. He seemed to equate us as some series of slackers who stare at blank screens all day and dream of violence when we are not. No amount of common sense worked for this guy. This guy loved to throw personal insults and we pointed out SO many times that he was dancing with ignorance he merely threw more. When he was given his granite cookie for Lieberman loving there we created a gravedancing thread in the gaming board that has YET to die.

I'm on a slow workday but I'm a working professional and family man. I read fiction, periodicals, and non-fictions as well as love documentaries. I happen to love to play video games and that includes some seriously violent stuff. I have never met any gamer who was affected by video games in a negative way. I did know some guys who played far too much...usually those damn MMORPGs. Some call that "addiction". That's just escapism. It happens with Pot to Chess to Surfing and anything in between that is non-physically addictive that allows you to have a fun time and get away from your troubles.

[Leeny]

132. Thank you

[YOY]

136. You're still full of it

n.t.

[YOY]

59. That might be because of poverty/unemployment/poor education are up like it almost always is...

There is no connection between violent video games and violent/criminal behavior. There have been so many studies that have TRIED to prove the connection and the burden of proof is not there. There is no solid evidence showing violent trends in those who play violent games.

There is a direct correlation between poverty and lack of education and violence though. That's older and just as well proven as the Theory of Gravity. Games just make a good scapegoat like Rock Music/Jazz/Bikinis/Marijuana/Role-Playing Games/women-wearing-pants-and-not-dresses have been in the past. The DLC crowd use this to appeal to Soccer Moms and NASCAR Dads as do Republicans to Holy Rollers. All of them have never actually gamed and are running on misinformation. This is why there are few Hillary fans in the gaming community and may have affected (pretty damn sure actually) the youth vote in her disfavor. Evan Bayt is another one who we dislike. Joe Lieberman is the ultimate proof of anti-games being bullsh*t and that they are merely a scapegoat for the right-wing when so many REAL problems can be solved by being more concerned with poverty...but that's GASP! Socialism!

If you dredge google you will most likely come up with the dreaded {sic} APA's study in 2000 that has been shot full of so many holes that it no longer has legs to stand on. Check out post 38 for a link to a study that says the opposite of that APA study: that playing games actually decrease the violent tendencies of gamers.

[Leeny]

104. yeah, keep waiting...

[YOY]

113. No, I won't. It's just somewhat of a rhetorical statement that you are full of it.

I hate treating these things like a contest but apparently you lose.

Game over. Pun intended.

By the way this is one of the reasons why Clinton is not the nominee. Because a large sum of the youth vote wanted change and recognize pandering BS and fake stories such as yours.

Clinton and Obama's stances on violent video games and their effects were as different as night and day.

[Leeny]

124. you don't have to be a jerk

sorry I jumped in to offer my opinion my experience is with my own child, but I'd rather not share it with you

no game

[YOY]

125. You'd rather not share because it is non-existant or relevant to the situation.

Why not share? Perhaps you'd think I'd insult a child? I probably tear apart the diagnosis or even cite your parenting skills but blaming a kid is something I don't do. Perhaps you let an 8-year old play a violent game and noticed them being revved up afterwards?

Being a jerk is talking smack about something you know nothing about. That's pretty much what I do to that that are woefully ignorant and willing to spread that ignorance.

[Renew Deal]

118. You can't back up our point

Unless your point is that playing violent video games makes you dumb.

[YOY]

17. I love it when people who've never played one cast stones.

I've played violent games my entire life. It has not made me more violent.

I have said it a million times and I will say it again: "There is no connection between violent video games and real crime/violence."

And the first person who dredges Google for that APA study that has been shot full of more holes for faulty research and pulling gets laughed at for being an idiot.

[Marr]

21. Violent video games are an expression of a violent society.

They aren't the root of our ills-- just a reflection of them. Same goes for books, painting, you name it.

The thing that makes me chuckle about the people who like to complain about violent video games is the selectiveness of their outrage. I've seen plenty of complaints about Grand Theft Auto, for instance-- but no complaints whatsoever about Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon. I found the latter to be much more offensive than the former, personally. I wouldn't want to ban it or restrict it's sales, but the ideas it reflects are much more offensive that car theft.

[Toucano]

73. I agree.

It's in our reptilian brains.

People are violent.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

22. Not as bad as books about witchcraft.

Or that awful Rock n' Roll.

[Breeze54]

23. From personal experience, I'd say no.

I know a bunch of teens that play the violent games and they aren't violent at all.

I think it depends on the persons playing the games personality, environment, etc.

Pre-disposition to violence, etc. It may actually cut down on aggression because
they can let out their aggressions in a virtual world instead of on society at large.

JMO.

[ThatsMyBarack]

24. Time to bring back Pong and Pac-Man!

;)

[proud2BlibKansan]

25. They are bad for kids

Adults should be free to make their own choices.

[Solon]

27. Of course Video games are bad for you, Pac-Man started me on pills...

and Super Mario Bros. got me hooked on Shrooms. I also have an irresistible desire to stomp on turtles for some reason. :)

[DutchLiberal]

29. No, of course not. It's just a favorite scapegoat for the conservatives.

Just like violent movies, television, rock music etc.

[Captain Angry]

34. Thanks for posting that.

It's what I was going to write.

I blew my great Aunt's mind. She was ranting about Marilyn Manson after the Columbine killings. I said, I listen to him, and I haven't run amok, and I won't be.

[DutchLiberal]

92. Did you see 'Bowling for Columbine'?

When Michael Moore asked Marilyn Manson what he would say to the students at Columbine, he said he would say nothing. He said he would listen to them, because nobody else did.

It seems like people just need these scapegoats to blame something/someone for all of society's ills. It's nothing new, really. First it was comic books. Children would get violent by reading that 'filth'. Then it was rock 'n roll. Can you imagine there was a time when Bill Haley was considered a danger to the youth's morals and values? It looks so tame nowadays. Then came television, and now it's video games. And tomorrow there will be a new invention and people will forget about the games and blame the newest scapegoat...

I wish I was there to see your aunt's reaction when you told her the 'good news'... :rofl:

[Captain Angry]

98. I did see that part of the movie.

And he was right.

Scapegoats let people move on to blaming the next event rather than fixing the problem.

And yes, Bill Haley was considered a threat for good reason. :-) We already know what the next threat is, it's the internet. Youtube, instant messaging, porn, child porn, etc. It will come to pass, as some desperately want to block any free speech of any kind, and will hide behind an attack against pornography to do it.

[Fox Mulder]

30. Hell no.

[Edweird]

36. No. Bad people are bad for society. You can't ban your way to happiness.

Violence existed long before the video game.
The baby boomers grew up watching violent cowboy flicks and war movies and violence was on the TV then too.
Where's the effect?

I'm sure I'll hear all about how "that was different"....

[ZombieHorde]

66. Violence existed long before the video game.

Next thing I know, you will claim that there was lust before there was porn.

[Kitty Herder]

37. I don't know. Is that fair to say?

I just don't know. I'm not very familiar with recent video games.

I liked Diablo a long time ago. I don't think that made me more violent. But I was a young adult at the time, not a child. I don't know how they effect kids.

[LiberalPersona]

38. No

IIRC numerous studies have shown that people who play violent games are actually less prone to violence in real life than people who don't play them.

EDIT: And here I found one
http://www.gamerevolution.com/features/violence_and_videogames

[conscious evolution]

39. All video games,

violent or not,are bad for you.
Sitting four feet away from thousands of lights that flash on and off thousands of times a second is not good for anybody.

Kill your TV's people.They rot your brain and they make you succeptable to hypnotic suggestion.

[YOY]

44. May I make a suggestion?

Actually, play the game that KGF mentioned upstream: Bioshock. An adventure in an artistically created Ultra-libertarian dystopia ala Ayn Rand (and it pulls no punches) that brings up a lot of questions to the gamer including moral decision making.

Then play my favorite: Medieval: Total War II. Historically set in the middle ages up to the Renaissance (and including it partially.) Using historical facts (although event dates maneuver so that the player cannot "predict" events such as the black plague or the introduction of Gunpowder or the invasion of the Mongols.) Strategy is key and often chess like consideration of repercussions of actions and political/religious/economic maneuvering on the player's part are key. One can play the game chivalrous or as a brutal dictator or any combination of the two.

Then tell me that either kill your brain afterward.

We're not talking mindless "games". Some have compared the games as artistic mediums or strategic genius. Whereas TV demands only that you watch the interactivity here keeps you stimulated and directly involved in the outcomes.

[conscious evolution]

47. My problem is not with the games

themselves as it is with the medium they are presented on.
As far as I am concerned,any activitythat requires staring at an electronic screen for hours on end is bad for the brain.
If you want to exercise your mind play chess or other,similar interactive games that do not require a television or computer monitor.

[SteelPenguin]

48. even posting on DU?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

53. LOL

I like it when people complain about TV and video games on internet message boards.

:rofl:

[conscious evolution]

62. Ironic,huh?

You know what the difference between them is?

At least with the internet we have some control over what we read or write on the net.Games and TV shows content is controlled by the producers and writers.Here,we are the ones in control of the content.Granted,we do not have complete control but at least we are not being lead in a direction controlled by someone with unknown or malicious motives.

[YOY]

63. Now you're just digging...and you couldn't be more wrong in many cases.

Sorry. You really need to play some of these games you are so keen on judging without merit.

Do I have to quote "Green Eggs and Ham" here? "Try them, try them, and you'll see."

[conscious evolution]

67. Sorry.I would rather play

real life.
It's a lot more interesting.And fun.
As a matter of fact,I think I will go play right now.
See yall later.

[YOY]

69. What the hell do you do for fun? Now you insult me as a person with no real life?

I'm a professional who speaks several languages. A father and a husband. I know "real life" well.

I take it reading is out of the question. Chess too. Video games just have a screen involved. It's all real life. Get over yourself.

You lost the debate and it's not very polite to back peddle into insults on your way to the loser' circle.

That's for playing. Sorry you lost. Next time talk from experience instead of out of your ass.

and for the last time: PLAY THE F***ING GAMES THAT YOU ARE SO IDIOTICALLY CONDEMNING BEFORE YOU START TYPING!!!

[conscious evolution]

91. What I do for fun.

Make and/or listen to music
Play with my friends.
Have hot sweaty sex with my SO.
Work in my gardens.
Hang at the coffeshop with freinds and solve the worlds problems.
Go to work(Hey,I love my job!What can I say.)
Volunteer at my neighborhood land trust(Spent the last three hours helping to build a new deck on the overlook.)

Thats just a partial list.I could go on.

As for losing a debate.So what.Ya see,I wasn't debating.Someone put a poll up asking for opinions on video games and I did so.But if it makes you feel better to think you somehow won something go right ahead.I don't mind.

Well,later.Off to drum class.

[YOY]

111. and you don't think I do those in real life as well?

All because I enjoy some video games.

It's not about winning. It's about discussing. You made this into a contest and away from a discussion with the personal insults and resetting your stance on the matter.

[conscious evolution]

116. Excuse me?

You should take a look at this reply and then get back to me about who is insulting whom-http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=3660852&mesg_id=3669062

[YOY]

120. You insinuated and I reacted.

n/t

[conscious evolution]

121. It's the games.

Well,not just the games.The games are just a part of the problem.
Our society has been programmed into making knee-jerk reactions to stimuli.We have also been programmed to not step back and take a good look at what is going on around us before making decisions or taking action.
The information age,while good in some aspects,seems to have programmed into us a mindset that demands instant gratification and the destruction of patience.

Upthread I mentioned hypnosis and its effects on people.Do yourself and your family and friends a favor and read up on inducing hypnotic states through mass media.I think you will find it an interesting subject.That or it will piss you off to no end.
Either way it will change your life.

Peace
CE

[YOY]

122. I'm afraid it's not the games at all.

I will indeed read up on hynotic states. Although I am hardly hynotised by games as I tend to make so many reactive faces and even talk to folks about the strategies involved.

I am going to once again suggest that you try before you condemn. You will not be damaged in any way shape or form and come away better informed.

[conscious evolution]

131. Gave up gaming awhile back

While the bells and whistles on computer games are vastly improved I think I will stay away from them.If I am going to spend my time in front of a computer I would rather use that time to learn about and research subjects that catch my interest.

Please do read up on hypnotic states and how they are induced.You might be surprised to find out that not all such states are as they are commonly portrayed in media and such.
And while you are at it read up on propoganda and marketing.The evil geniuses on Madison Ave havebeen using tools from all three sciences(if that is the right word for it) to manipulate peoples minds and emotions for quite a while now.
Look at it as an exercise in 'know thy enemies'.When you know how they are manipulating you it is easier to recognize when you are being fed a load of BS.If you can recognize it as BS you have already made a good start at countering or ignoring it.(Thats half the battle right there.Just learning to recognize it.)Otherwise you can get trapped in their so called 'reality'.
In other words,Take the RED pill.Not the blue one.

Peace
CE

[YOY]

135. Puleeze...

I've taken the red pill long ago. And I game.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

74. You get control over what you write...

but here you are, losing an argument. Badly.

[YOY]

71. This guy is unbelievable.

Check out the rest of the thread below. He's got more back peddle than a unicycle riding dyslexic circus clown on roids who just got told he's going to be the next one shot out of the cannon.

And I was being civil on him for once!

[YOY]

49. It doesn't seem to be a good justification.

Because we seem to be doing that just now.

Just try one of them before you pass a judgement.

[Hippo_Tron]

106. So if I play online chess I'm not exercising my mind?

[conscious evolution]

108. You are

But I still think it is better for you to play offline and face to face with your opponent.

[Hippo_Tron]

109. I find it a more enjoyable experience as well, but...

It is summertime and the friends that I play with are from school and currently we are separated by thousands of miles. Having online chess also gives me an opportunity to practice more because I can go on yahoo and have an opponent any time and any where.

And frankly since I'm still a novice, I need to play a lot of games and lose a lot of games to learn from my mistakes. Having online chess makes that possible.

[NeedleCast]

96. It's funny when people with 3500 message board posts say shit like this

Really.

[comtec]

40. NO! And neither are RPG's (fuking xian hypocrites)

I LOVE my RPGs, the escapism from this evil, fucking , bullying world is all that kept me from GOING postal in my youth and early adulthood.
I could re-direct my thoughts to a game, or concentrate on a new idea for a character or class, or anything but the assholes tormenting me.
So no.. I'd say NO they are NOT detrimental, hell I'd say they're beneficial to an extent.

I would like to point out, that all the horrible, mass killers, postals, etc, people have come from "proper" 'christian' family upbringings...generally the more conservative, un-accepting branches.
The RPG and games were probably all that KEPT those kids from totally loosing it sooner, because they has SOME kind of outlet.

and yes.. .Games have some of the B E S T social commentary I've yet to see. And since it's a game, it's often overlooked by the censoring assholes in the government!

[ZombieHorde]

64. RPG's rock!

[carlyhippy]

41. some people can handle them, some can't

my kid plays them all the time and is even keeled and calm...he has had some friends over at times who would play the games and get all uptight while playing then end up getting all hyper and acting a fool, then they got sent home. Was it the game itself or were they just frustrated because they didn't do well in the game, who knows.

[OnyxCollie]

43. Playing Grand Theft Auto IV

is no different than the scenarios I would make up playing with my Hot Wheels on my parents living room floor when I was a kid.

I've always been bad.

[AngryAmish]

45. Of course they are bad for society - AND GET THE FUCK OFF OF MY LAWN!!!!!!!!!!!!

We didn't have video games at Woodstock and Altamont. We had to do the stabbin' ourselves...and we liked it!

[Greyhound]

50. No, just the opposite. Video games are interactive as opposed to the entirely passive

media that we have so thoroughly adopted in our society. Most of them require planning and strategic thinking, neither of which is priority in our schools any longer. In addition, many of them allow interaction with other live humans so the element of real-time thinking is also added.

Now, I'm not saying that they are all good and they do tend toward the dehumanization of other people, but then, that is ubiquitous in our 'culture' and was not begun by the games. After all, what is more dehumanizing than conquering your enemies on a national scale in a game of Risk?

[treestar]

51. It is a bad sign that they can sell violent video games

They could make a fun game without it being violent.

They could desensitize the future warriors, who probably won't have to be doing much more in the way of actual contact with the real people they are killing than the games make with the fake people.

[YOY]

54. They do make those.

The SIMS for example is non-violent and a top seller.

You obviously don't game.

And enlistment and video games as well as desensivity and video games have nothing to do with each other.

[TrogL]

58. Violent games have been around forever

Lacking Playstations, Xboxes and PC's, in 1961 my friends and I had an ongoing mock games of Crusaders vs everybody else and "Cowboys and Indians" (the Indians usually won). I was a knight/Indian and got (virtually) disembowelled at least once per lunch hour. The teachers preferred that to "murderball" played with a frozen soccerball, causing at least one injury per day.

[Evoman]

60. People who say video games make us violent should be disembowled and beat with an iron crowbar.

Then the weapon should be switched to a shotgun, then shot. Then switched to an assault rifle, then shot again. Then switched to an impractical alien weapon that shoot blood-sucking flies, then shot again.

I hate video game haters and I fantasize about throwing grenades at them. Video games don't make you violent, so stop saying that or I will stab you.

[tismyself]

61. my last video game

was Oregon Trail. I loved that game.

Played it on an Apple 2e with a room full of seven year olds.

[ZombieHorde]

68. I played that game...

I noticed no cannibal winter level, oh well.

[tismyself]

70. didn't need it

the seven year olds and I were much better shots than that!

[0rganism]

87. Left off the choice of "ALL videogames are bad for society"

I certainly wouldn't say the violent ones are worse than the nonviolent ones.

Even so, IMHO, they're all less harmful than driving gasoline-powered cars.

[Deja Q]

88. Fictiopnal violence = not necessarily, but online gamers act devolved anyway...

Obvious filth like GTA -- no contest. Someone has to be sick to really enjoy doing what people do in those games (mugging, beating robbing, et cetera)

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

90. lulz

[NeedleCast]

97. n00b

[DutchLiberal]

93. Bomb the hell out of Afghanistan and Iraq, then blame video games for violent behavior...

[east texas lib]

94. No, they're not.

Now KILL THEM, KILL THEM ALL!;-)

[NeedleCast]

95. This Poll Drives Me to Violence

The killing spree is only being abated by the fact that my Moorish hoard is plundering it's way across Europe as we speak. Next stop, Italy. Allah be praised!

[readmoreoften]

99. Only when the army lures whole families using massive multiplayer war games.

www.americasarmy.com

You can play in a super cool military immersive simulation that's just like being in Iraq! You get to shoot at "bad guys" (brown people in loose-fitting clothes.)

[YOY]

127. Yeah...but here's the thing: nobody likes it and it hasn't increase enlistment.

If anything, "America's Army" is proof that Gamers can piece reality from a game and that our Military's recruitment methods and motivators need to be examined far better.

[readmoreoften]

138. Interesting.

If you have any follow up reading on that I'd genuinely appreciate it. (I do research in technology and ethics.)

[bigwillq]

101. They have their intended audience.

The violent ones.

They have restrictions on them. They just need to be enforced by retail stores and parents.

[YOY]

128. So only violent people play violent games?

And violent people are drawn to violent video games in turn?

or do you mean that the violent games have their intended audience and that the restrictions simply are not enforced?

[bigwillq]

130. I meant

what your second question says. They have their intended audiences and the restrictions are not enforced.

It's just like with CDs or movies that people try to censor.

Movies, and CD, have parental warnings and they need to be enforced by parents and employees.

I am firmly against censorship when there are already rules in place.

[Bryan]

103. You left off "We've got bigger fish to fry"

The outcry over violent video games is a leftover fat '90s issue if there ever was one. We're better off focusing on the real carnage in the Mideast than the virtual carnage in Grand Theft Auto.

[benEzra]

105. This chart suggests "no"...

Statistics from the U.S. Department of Justice, via the article someone linked upthread: http://www.gamerevolution.com/features/violence_and_videogames

[RedCappedBandit]

107. They're a symptom of a violent society

not the other way around

edit: also, a poll really needs to have more than just yes and no options :shrug:

[Yukari Yakumo]

110. This reminds me...

It appears lawyer d'bag and sworn enemy of video games Jack Thompson is about to become an ex-lawyer as Judge Dava Tunis has recommended to Florida Supreme Court permanent disbarment for him (along with a fine of $43,675.35).

http://kotaku.com/5023506/inside-the-169+page-thompson-report-judge-recommends-43k-fine-also

[Odin2005]

114. They are GOOD for society, they are an outlet for aggression just like sports.

Anything that redirects aggressive behavior in a way that makes it harmless is a good thing. The notion that violent video games causes violent behavior cannot be supported by an impartial look at the evidence.

[Renew Deal]

117. People who think violent video games are bad for society

are bad for society.

[cbc5g]

133. They're a small part of it...it's our violent culture that's bad for society

Showing naked people on T.V. is wrong and illegal and having nudity in video games will get you an 18+ rating..but mowing down people with guns is PERFECTLY FINE for entertainment. Europeans think we are crazy. When did love and human bodies become wrong and killing become entertainment?

[YOY]

134. And the Japanese play the same games...sometimes much more violent

So do the Europeans.

Your point is? Hoping it is not that these games make us more violent.

Because you've just been disproven.

[NuttyFluffers]

139. ratings is just america. games with sexual content has been around forever...

well, as long as video games have been produced. we're talking high sexual content in a few Text-Based Interactive Fiction games, which is like about as low tech as you can get. when we're talking about people swapping fan-made text-based RPGs made entirely of mere words typed onto a screen with descriptive texts following as a result, we're talking about the utter ingenuity of humans to sexualize anything.

sexual games are still quite popular around the world as well. though, i would be careful if one has a sensitive disposition before exploring this market. some of the international stuff is quite graphic and morally different from our preconceived expectations.

[Norrin Radd]

141. Final Fantasy causes me to ride chocobos and brood mutely over

an unattainable girl under a glorious mane of spiky hair while fighting cactuars and Tonberry with a sword the size of a Buick. But I look damn good doing it.